Time continued to race by, along with countless events.
Three months had passed since the moon was destroyed.
By the season, it was now the height of spring, but Earth’s northern hemisphere was already sweltering with heat beyond that of the equator.
Because of the darkened sky, sunlight could not be felt, but during the day it was difficult to go outside and move around.
Was that why?
Even though Earth was heading toward destruction and people were escaping to another star, protests and riots had not broken out on a large scale like they had not long ago.
It was a situation unlike America, the nation of firearms.
America now was dying like a patient lying in bed, waiting for death.
It was a dreadful situation, but there were people who were grateful even for this.
They were the American officials who had remained on the mainland.
People like Magreta, who was now complaining to the civil servant before her.
“Still, thanks to that, we’ve been able to maintain at least this much order.”
Magreta, who had crossed over to Earth with the exploration team three months ago and come to the American mainland, had still not been able to leave Washington.
She had come to Washington to gather supplies to take to Trappist and to find the families of the dispatched personnel, but most of the work she was doing now was something else entirely.
“What are we supposed to do if distribution breaks down this badly just because people aren’t coming out of their houses? No matter how hot it is, if they don’t want to die, they’re obviously going to come out with guns!”
Instead of gathering supplies to take to Trappist, she was managing and distributing supplies on the American mainland; instead of finding the families of the personnel, she was managing the people left on the mainland.
Of course, she was not doing it alone, but looking at the work she was doing now, it would not have been strange to regard her as a vice minister—no, even minister-level.
At her criticism, Section Chief Carlisle, the civil servant who had come to receive documents, broke into a sweat and made an excuse.
“We had no choice because we were short on volume.”
He, too, had once belonged to a different department.
Just as she, an intelligence agent, had taken charge of supply distribution, the man being scolded had originally been a civil servant affiliated with the Department of Transportation.
After being promoted several ranks, he too, like the other civil servants, was getting chewed out by her every time.
“No, there are still plenty of grain warehouses left in Nebraska, aren’t there?”
When she pulled out a map marked with the locations of the grain warehouses and asked, the former Department of Transportation official stammered in reply.
“T-those warehouses contain grain to be sent to Paradise and Trappist…”
At his answer, Magreta frowned.
“What nonsense are you talking about? The supplies and grain being sent to Trappist are being taken from the flooded coastal cities.”
After the officials of the American government crossed over to Paradise, and Magreta rose to a high position because of the parents who remained on the mainland, Hyeon had asked, instead of receiving supplies, to be told the locations of supplies.
Places where grain and supplies had been lost or abandoned due to the suddenly changed climate.
In the past, there was no way such supplies would have remained, but now things were different.
People were leaving for Paradise, cities and towns were being abandoned one after another due to riots and migration, and livestock and grain abandoned after farming was given up lay scattered across the fields.
Especially the coastal cities.
All of Florida, the eastern seaboard including New York, and the western coastal cities of California such as Los Angeles had all been submerged and emptied out.
Of course, the supplies in the lower levels of the flooded cities had become useless, but in the upper levels of the cities above the water, many supplies still remained.
Other people could not even approach them, but a flying mage with a magical box of tremendous capacity could easily retrieve supplies from those places.
“It’s the same with Paradise. How much do you think the transport fleet can carry all the way to Djibouti in one trip? Besides, the convoy that arrived in Djibouti hasn’t even been able to set sail again yet.”
A round trip from Djibouti to the eastern United States took at least a month.
After the American president left, the second refugee convoy had only arrived in Djibouti a few days ago.
Each time one arrived, hundreds of thousands of people crossed over to Paradise, making relations with Paradise strained as well.
And yet he was using Paradise as an excuse.
At the section chief’s continued excuses, Magreta’s eyes grew colder and colder.
“Don’t tell me it’s because of the grain companies that own the warehouses?”
In truth, it was because of them, but he could not bring himself to say so.
It was because of the whip hanging on the wall behind Magreta.
It was a whip said to writhe like a living thing whenever Magreta got angry, and that whip was now raising its head like a snake and looking at him.
Hissss.
In the past, he would have laughed it off as sleight of hand, but now that he knew magic was real, he could not do that.
“I-I’ll open the grain warehouses immediately.”
Section Chief Carlisle lowered his head, weeping tears of blood inside.
In truth, he had been taking bribes from the companies that owned the warehouses, but right now his life was more important.
The civil servants in Washington had heard stories that Magreta had swept away gun-wielding rioters with her whip.
He had not seen it himself, but every time the whip moved as if alive, it felt as though death were passing over his head.
“Good. Release them as quickly as possible.”
“Understood.”
Seeing the snake return to being a whip, he let out a sigh of relief.
Just as he barely finished the matter and was about to leave the room, people hurried in.
Bang.
They came in at once without knocking.
It was rude behavior, but he could not say anything.
Seeing the people entering, he hurriedly bowed his head.
The first to enter was Samuel, the deputy director of the Geographic Information Agency.
Until recently, he had been Magreta’s superior, but Samuel’s position had changed completely from then.
After the director of the Geographic Information Agency died and the president and high-ranking officials left for Paradise, he had taken on the role of provisional head of the American mainland.
Behind him came Magreta’s cousin Maxwell, and the former Speaker of the House, the head of the Ashford family and Maxwell’s uncle.
As Speaker of the House, he had long wielded great power in America’s legislature, but with everyone leaving for Paradise, the head of the Ashford family had become the actual most powerful figure in the legislature.
He was Magreta’s father.
On top of that, her cousin Maxwell had also stayed on the American mainland instead of going to Paradise.
Instead of going to Paradise, he was managing the assets left behind by the departed power holders.
After people left for Paradise, her father became the true power of the legislature, her superior became the head of the government, and her cousin became a corporate representative.
In this situation, it was not strange for Magreta to hold such a position.
As Section Chief Carlisle stepped aside, Samuel spoke on behalf of them.
“The Djibouti ruins have stopped. The connection to Paradise has been cut.”
Words she had not expected.
Then Maxwell added,
“It looks like Paradise blocked it. It seems even those connected to Paradise were all stabbed in the back. I contacted them, but everyone was just shocked.”
Her father also clicked his tongue softly and spoke.
“There were quite a few among those who left for Paradise who expressed dissatisfaction, but I didn’t think they would act this hastily.”
At their words, the section chief, who had retreated to the corner, turned pale.
He had endured solely with the goal of someday leaving for Paradise, so just imagining what would happen if this news became known was horrifying.
Unlike him, Magreta’s expression did not change in the slightest.
“It’s faster than expected.”
It was as if she had known in advance that things would turn out like this.
Seeing Magreta’s expression, which differed from what he had expected, Section Chief Carlisle realized the situation was different from what he had thought.
Even putting Magreta’s expression aside, it was somehow strange that these men had come to this room.
She used magic on Earth, but as far as he knew, Magreta had come to hold this position because of her superior and her family.
And yet they had come to her for such an important matter.
No matter how much he thought about it, he could not understand the reason.
At that moment, Magreta took out a satellite phone and called someone.
“It’s me. Maggie.”
When she called herself by her nickname, her father’s eyebrow twitched.
Perhaps she had set it to speakerphone, because the other person’s answer echoed through the room.
[What is it? Ah, you’re on speakerphone. One moment.]
An unfamiliar language, not English.
‘It sounds like Korean?’
As the section chief thought that, the voice he heard changed.
[Can you hear me properly now?]
It was clearly the same voice as before, but this time he could understand it too.
It felt similar to the translation relic he had heard before.
While he marveled at the voice he was hearing, Magreta brought up the reason for her call.
“Paradise cut off the connection to the ruins. It looks like they don’t intend to accept any more refugees.”
[As expected.]
At Magreta’s words, a calm answer came again.
“It’s faster than expected.”
At those words, Magreta stuck out her lips.
It was an entirely different side of her from the way she acted toward him and the other civil servants.
Her appearance felt unfamiliar.
It seemed the same was true for the others.
Her superior, her father, and her cousin all looked at Magreta with strange eyes.
Again, a voice came from the speakerphone.
[What does Maggie want to do? If you want, I can reconnect the ruins and make them accept refugees.]
The connection to the ruins had been cut from another star, yet he could reconnect it?
This was truly something he had never imagined.
The section chief blinked and looked around.
He thought everyone would be the same as him, but their expressions were different.
As if they believed those words, everyone looked relieved.
“That’s fortunate.”
“When it opens again, I’d love to see their faces.”
“But won’t they interfere from that side?”
At Maxwell’s words, the voice came again.
[If necessary, I can put a shield over the ruins on Paradise’s side.]
‘He can reconnect the severed ruins and even put up something like a barrier?’
At the voice he heard, the director recalled a certain rumor circulating in Washington.
A rumor that among those using magic on Earth, there was someone who truly wielded superhuman power.
In Washington political circles, there were rumors of a person who could destroy warships with a human body and block missiles, but the section chief had not believed such talk.
‘Was it all true?’
Thinking that, he looked at Magreta.
But Magreta’s answer was different from what he expected.
“Let’s leave it as it is. There’s no need to reconnect it.”
At her answer, the section chief shouted without realizing it.
“What? You’re saying not to connect it?”
Everyone looked at the section chief.
As everyone stared at him, the section chief’s face turned pale again, but he still forced himself to speak.
“B-but we have to connect to Paradise to save the people, don’t we?”
At his words, instead of getting angry, Magreta showed him a smile.
At the beautiful smile he had not expected, the section chief almost lost his senses.
A voice came from the speakerphone again.
[So there was someone who didn’t know the situation. In any case, I’ll do as Maggie says. Since the connection to Paradise has been cut, I’ll transport people to Trappist. Please find a suitable place in Washington to use for spatial transfer. Once I receive word, I’ll create the portal immediately.]
Three months had passed since the moon shattered.
Hyeon was now able to make spatial transfer devices.
It seemed he intended to make his first beginning here.
Beginning with Washington, spatial transfer devices would be made in each country, and Hyeon intended to use these devices to move countless people to Trappist.
After the call ended, former Speaker Ashford asked his daughter,
“When are you planning to introduce him?”
At her father’s words, Magreta shook her head.
“Not yet. Besides, there are a few competitors.”
“So Ashford is going to step back?”
As the head of the family continued, Magreta smiled.
“No. I have no intention of doing that. Once we go to Trappist, I intend to settle things right away.”
Descendants